Chapter 13: How Much for These Wild Vegetables?

Wang Jinhua spat fiercely on the ground.

“What time does he think it is, still acting like some young master from the city? Eldest, look at your nephew. He’s completely out of line! Walking right past his elders without even saying hello! I swear, feeding Mom and Dad’s eggs to a dog would have been better than feeding them to him!”

Wang Jinhua was furious, her words pouring out of her like beans spilling from a bamboo tube as she vented her anger.

It wasn’t for any other reason than that Tian Xiufen had taken quite a few eggs from the house over the past few days because Xie Zhao’s wife was giving birth.

Indeed, Old Man Xie’s household had not yet undergone a household division^[1].

Old Man Xie had fathered three sons and one daughter.

The eldest was Xie Youshun, the second was Xie Youzhen, the third was Xie Youfu, and the youngest was a daughter named Xie Hongmei.

Old Man Xie had enjoyed a period of glory in his youth.

He was tall and strong, capable of doing the work of two farmers by himself, a truly skilled hand.

Back in the days of earning work points^[2], he earned enough for two people and even became the village production team leader, making his family’s financial situation exceptionally good.

With so many sons, he had taken them to a patch of wasteland at the edge of the village years ago to build a large courtyard.

The entire extended family lived inside it.

Later, when the sons married and had children of their own, Old Man Xie lived in the eldest son’s courtyard.

The family had never split up. They basically ate and drank together, contributing to a communal family fund^[3] kept by Old Man Xie to cover daily expenses.

As the saying goes:

The eldest is gold, the youngest is a treasure, and only the middle child is a weed.

Xie Youzhen was stuck right in the middle.

The eldest, Xie Youshun, had broken his leg in his youth, and Old Man Xie and his wife had doted on him like a precious jewel ever since.

As for the youngest, Xie Youfu, he was even more favored.

By the time he was born, the family’s financial situation had already improved, so they spared no expense in providing him with food and drink.

Only Xie Youzhen was left out.

He had been clumsy with his words since childhood, unable to say sweet things, and was stubborn to a fault. Whenever he went to work in the fields with his younger brother, he did all the work himself, only to be scolded for being careless when they returned.

Yet, he never defended himself.

It was the same when it came to contributing to the communal family fund after he grew up.

According to Old Man Xie’s rules, each household had to hand over thirty percent of their earnings for daily expenses, such as food, fertilizer, and renting oxen.

The eldest and the youngest both slacked off and played tricks, often keeping false accounts to pocket the extra money for themselves.

Only he did.

He worked diligently and honestly, contributing every single copper.

But over time, instead of being appreciated, his honesty was taken for granted, and being taken advantage of became the norm.

Consequently,

This time, when Lin Muyu gave birth, it bred a great deal of resentment.

Especially in the eldest brother’s household.

When Tian Xiufen went to the hospital, she took thirty eggs from the house and even brought along a bag of brown sugar.

It had made her heart bleed with pain!

But that was not all!

Xie Youzhen had actually borrowed money from the communal family fund!

A whopping thirty yuan!

Although their large family could usually feed themselves and stay warm, cash was incredibly hard to come by.

They were all farmers scraping a living from the soil, and after handing over their Public Grain^[4], they barely had any surplus grain left, let alone cash to spare.

Yet the second brother, Xie Youzhen, had taken thirty yuan all at once!

He claimed he would pay it back, but with what?

Because of this, Wang Jinhua was full of resentment. When she saw Xie Zhao today, she had forced herself to squeeze out a smile, only to be completely ignored.

She was so angry her vision went white, and she turned to lash out at Xie Youshun.

“It’s all because you’re so useless! Otherwise, why would I have to suffer this kind of humiliation? They took money from the house to give birth, and they still dare to give us attitude! We can’t go on living like this! Once the New Year is over, we must have a household division! We can’t let him drag us down!”

*

Xie Zhao had no idea who those two even were.

Carrying his hoe and a basket, he walked all the way back to the patch of wild vegetables he had visited the previous night.

By now, the sun had risen, casting a reddish glow across the landscape as the snow began to melt. Looking at the ground, Xie Zhao finally understood why there were so many wild vegetables here.

It was because the slope faced the sun.

Near the foot of the mountain, a thick layer of fallen leaves had decomposed into natural fertilizer. Although the soil wasn’t rich enough to grow cultivated vegetables, it was more than enough for wild ones to thrive.

He squatted down, took a closer look, and felt a surge of joy.

Wow!

The ground was densely packed with wild greens!

Shepherd’s purse and dandelions grew clustered together, their tender green shoots poking through the blanket of white snow, resilient and lovely.

Without wasting any time, Xie Zhao raised his hoe and dug firmly into the ground.

With a single strike, the yellow soil was overturned, the snow fell away, and the wild vegetables were revealed intact.

Moving quickly, he pulled up the shepherd’s purse and dandelions and tossed them into his basket.

Forty minutes later.

The bamboo basket was already piled high with shepherd’s purse and dandelions, yet he had only cleared a fifth of the patch.

Xie Zhao reluctantly put away his hoe.

He would leave the rest for now.

To build a sustainable business, he would take these to the county seat today. If they sold well, he could always come back to dig up more tomorrow.

Carrying the basket to the river, he submerged it in the water and gave the greens a quick scrub.

The flowing river water instantly washed away the mud, leaving the wild vegetables clean.

Xie Zhao lifted the basket, shook off the excess water, and set off.

*

Nine in the morning.

County Hospital.

Today was the second day of the Lunar New Year, a time for visiting relatives, and the hospital was getting crowded.

Xie Zhao pushed his handcart, which held a large bucket and his vegetable basket. As the cart jolted along, the water in the bucket sloshed, and the startled fish inside thrashed their tails with loud splashes.

“Oh, look! Fish! That’s rare! I wonder where he caught them in the dead of winter.”

A few passersby couldn’t help but steal a second look.

Then they noticed the wild vegetables.

Finding those in winter was even rarer.

As he passed by a small wonton stall, a middle-aged woman’s eyes went wide and lit up.

“Hey, comrade! Are those shepherd’s purse and dandelions in your basket?”

Xie Zhao stopped, parked the handcart, and nodded with a smile.

“Yes, I dug them up just this morning! Look, they’re fresh as can be!”

Xie Zhao handed the basket over.

Oh!

The plump shepherd’s purse and dandelions had thick roots and a rich fragrance, looking absolutely delightful in hand.

“Are you selling them, then?”

The middle-aged woman wiped her hands on her apron, her eyes fixed longingly on the basket of wild greens.

Her family ran a wonton shop, mostly selling meat-stuffed ones.

But during the New Year and other holidays, every household would buy meat and slaughter chickens or ducks, so meat wontons didn’t sell as well.

But if she could offer a bowl of shepherd’s purse wontons…

Ah!

Fragrant, refreshing, and uniquely flavorful!

Who wouldn’t crave a bite of that?

Unfortunately, she lived in the county seat, and she had never seen anyone selling them at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative or the food market. Seeing them now, she simply couldn’t tear herself away.

“If you want them, I’ll set aside a bowl for myself and sell you the rest!”

Xie Zhao said with a smile.

In his mind, he was quickly calculating a price.

These days, the price of green vegetables certainly couldn’t compare to meat, but seasonality also played a big role.